Spinal Cord Injury Increases Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

According to new research, patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury are at a risk of cardiovascular disease that is nearly 3 times as high as for the general population.

According to new research, patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury are at a risk of cardiovascular disease that is nearly 3 times as high as for the general population.

According to the research which was conducted in Canada, scientists found a 2.72 fold increased risk for heart disease, among persons who had suffered a spinal cord injury. The research was conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The researchers also found that the risk of suffering a stroke among patients, who have suffered a spinal cord injury, was nearly 4 times higher among these patients.

The researchers also noted that there has been a decline in the number of other potentially fatal conditions that are typically associated with spinal cord injury. These conditions include septicemia, pneumonia, and renal failure. However, as the severity of these side-effects has declined, cardiovascular disease has taken over and emerged as the number one cause of fatality among persons with spinal-cord injury.

Researchers found in their study that having a spinal cord injury can magnify the role of certain cardiovascular risk factors including high blood pressure, physical inactivity, chronic inflammation and problems of glycemic control. These are all cardiovascular risk factors even in the general population, but the effect of these factors is amplified when a person has also suffered a spinal cord injury.

Other statistics by the National Spinal-Cord Injury Statistical Centre indicate that hypertensive disorders and ischemic heart disease account for the third leading cause of fatality in patients who have suffered from a spinal cord injury.

Spinal injury lawyers find that motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injury in the United States. Fall accidents, assaults, gun violence and workplace accidents can also contribute to these catastrophic injuries.